Princess Leonor: “Young people are key to society's progress”

PRINCESS Leonor's presentation of a key awards ceremony in Barcelona was given in fluent catalán and stressed the need for young adults to be given opportunities in life – and, in fact, will probably be the last Royal speech she will give before setting off to Wales for her sixth-form education.

And the 15-year-old's dress at the Princess of Girona Awards sold out within 24 hours of her being seen wearing it.

The heir to the throne, who will be 16 on Hallowe'en – by which time she will be living in the Vale of Glamorgan at a top private school which, despite its prestige, has as many pupils from working-class backgrounds as it does aristocracy, thanks to its generous scholarship system – is often seen in high-street gear, as is her mother, Queen Letizia.

Both Royal women, and Leonor's younger sister Sofía, 14, regularly appear in Zara outfits – but the teenage future Queen of Spain's dress this time comes with a price tag of just under €250.

The red crêpe above-the-knee tunic-type frock, with an elasticated waist and puffed sleeves, is part of the present range by designer house Bgo & Me, and Leonor wore it with matching red ballet pumps by the Canary Island brand Mathilda Shoes.

Her dress was still on sale online up until hours after the Princess of Girona Awards ceremony, when every single one in stock was snapped up.

Leonor and Sofía may seem a little young to be 'fashion icons', but clothes worn by teenagers still suit women in their 20s – and late 40s, in fact, given that they frequently borrow garments and accessories from their mum.

At an earlier Royal engagement, Leonor wore a white coat by national designer Adolfo Domínguez, and this time she wore hooped gold bamboo-cane-pattern earrings, both of which belong to Queen Letizia.

Leonor's long speech at the awards which bear her name – as well as her 'main' title, Princess of Asturias, she also holds a list of others, including Princess of Girona – earned her heaps of praise on social media, given that she swapped effortlessly between Castilian Spanish and catalán, the latter of which she is fluent in, as are her parents and sister.

Some even commented that her diction in catalán was better than a leading politician, Gabriel Rufián, spokesman in regional Parliament for the Catalunya Left Republicans (ERC).

Others said she spoke catalán even better than 'the majority of TV reporters' in Catalunya.

Catalunya's regional president, Pere Aragonès, did not attend the ceremony even though he is deputy chairman of the Princess of Girona Foundation.

Aragonès, who strongly supports the region's independence from Spain, is anti-Royal, as is the case in general with those in favour of secession, and stated ahead of the awards that he 'had no intention of' taking part in what he considered acts of 'submission' to a monarchy.

Girona has been refusing to play host to the awards since Leonor's father, King Felipe VI, spoke out against Catalunya separatism in 2017, so the ceremony has taken place in Barcelona since then.

But the key figure, along with the prizewinners, attending the ceremony is, arguably, the chair of the Princess of Girona Awards Foundation – who is Leonor herself, since 2014, when her father handed the reins over to her automatically as he was crowned King of Spain.

The awards are in recognition of talent in entrepreneurial initiatives, employment and education, as the young Princess recalled in her speech.

She said Catalunya as a region was 'a hallmark of initiative, creativity and entrepreneurial drive', and made significant mention of the nation's young adults and their vital rôle during the pandemic.

“They are the key to our progress as a society,” Leonor said.

Recalling that the Princess of Girona Awards 2020 were unable to be presented due to the Covid-19 crisis, Leonor stressed the importance of the Foundation's work: “Now, when young people need their voices to be heard more than ever.”

“If providing opportunities to the youngest generations is a duty that any society should always be committed to, the pandemic and its consequences have made this even more necessary,” Leonor stressed.

During the pandemic, she said, “we saw many young people throughout Spain helping children with their homework, helping their elderly neighbours with their shopping, making phone calls to people who were ill or alone, writing letters to people in intensive care, raising funds to buy medical equipment, and even printing these out in 3D.”

The footage seen by the public in Spain shows how numerous young people mucked in to help everyone overcome the crisis, and continue to do so, as Leonor pointed out.

“These are displays of generosity which reflect their sense of responsibility and their commitment to the present,” she said.

It may have sounded strange to hear a fifth-former talking about 'young people' in the third person plural, but in the conclusion to her speech, she made reference to herself as one of these youths who are key to Spain's future: “We young people are the energy which will drive this transformation,” she said.